£29 Nook from Barnes & Noble - worth it?

[deleted01]

I love books, and always said I'd never get an e-reader unless I travelled a lot, which I don't. But the Nook Simple Touch is currently £29 from Barnes & Noble, and other retailers, such as Currys and Argos, and I'm wondering if it's worth it. It's a decent price, and I would probably use it more often than I tell myself I would.

Would you buy it at that price? Do you have a Nook/similar e-reader? I wouldn't stop buying books, but I am running out of space to put them all, and one advantage of e-readers is the amount of free books available.

[MisterOJ]

I have a Nook SimpleTouch and I love it. I replaced it at Christmas with the SimpleTouch Glow, which is essentially the same thing, but with a nice built-in light. PERFECT for night reading, as I don't have to turn on the lamp and annoy the wife.

I would recommend either highly. Before I bought my first Nook (the old first-gen version) I thought I would only use it occasionally. I was wrong. I now only read ebooks and never buy paper one anymore.

[Switchback]

I think if you could find 100 people who were resistant in some way to ereaders at one point, and then tried an ereader, 90 of them would tell you they love ereaders now. That's as unscientific as you can get, but I know in my personal experience everyone I know who falls into that camp reads almost exclusively on ereaders now.

I think the hook is when you discover it's just as easy to get lost in the book when you're using a machine. Once that realization dawns (if it does), the benefits of an ereader over paper I think just make it seem impossible to switch back, unless you're reading something that is picture-heavy.

[deleted01]

I'm not completely against e-readers, I see their advantages, but I do love actual books. I'm only tempted to buy this Nook because of the extremely low price, and I do think I'll get my money's worth, with regard to how often I'll use it. I'm very tempted, but something's holding me back and I'm not sure what. I'm a poor student, true, but £29 would hardly be breaking the bank. I think I might pop into Argos while I'm in town tomorrow and see if they have any in stock.

[Isis]

I don't know why anyone would think that having an e-reader means you won't read actual books. Why wouldn't you be able to read in all kinds of formats?

I've had a kindle fire since Christmas. I tend to use it if I'm doing middle of the night insomniac reading in the dark. I also use the kindle app on my phone now, to read e-books if I don't have my kindle on me. But I still read actual books more than e-books. So, don't be scared!

[deleted01]

Oh no, my main concern is that given the choice between an e-book version or an actual book, I'd most likely choose the book, meaning I wouldn't get to use the e-reader as much as I'd like. That said, the amount of free e-books available is a big pull towards getting an e-reader, and I believe you can also borrow library books on the Nook? Which seems pretty cool.

Nook users - is there a way to convert Kindle books to a form compatible with the Nook? I've read that there isn't as much choice in e-books available on a Nook, but I can't imagine it's a big difference.

[Geddon]

Nook users - is there a way to convert Kindle books to a form compatible with the Nook? I've read that there isn't as much choice in e-books available on a Nook, but I can't imagine it's a big difference.

There is a freeware program called Calibre that can read and convert most eBook formats. The native format for the Nook is ePub and the native format of most Kindle books is mobi, Calibre can convert between the two.

[Mr.Howard]

I say buy it. I have a kindle fire and I buy e-books and real books. I tend to read stand alone books on the kindle and save trilogys or sagas for real books. Also you can save money on e-books with the offers e-books get.

[Golden Lion]

Naturally I see this thread after spending £109 on a kindle this morning.

[Tehol]

Naturally I see this thread after spending £109 on a kindle this morning.

Hah!

To OP if the price is too good to pass why not go for it or if you want to check different models from different companies do some research, for instance you can check out the following site for reviews

http://www.the-ebook-reader.com/

err... i don't know how to post http links.

edit:oh..it 's built in.

[Snowborn]

I'd say go for it!

Here's Calibre's website, you can convert from many formats to the one you need.

My favorite thing about e-readers is that they're great if you're reading a book in another language, all you have to do is tap on the word you don't know and you get the definition immediatly. I use my Kindle to read books in English, but I prefer reading books in Spanish on paper.

[Deedles]

I say go for it.

This time last year I had no intention of ever reading electronically. Now I love it, and "real" books. I tend to have a lot of books on the go at the one time and it suits. I also have 2 original books though. You wont necessarily stop reading them.

Also, a very minor point to readers but big ti authors. Legitimately bought ebooks can be tracked for sales numbers, which obviously can help contracts etc. if you are buying 2nd hand books, you might consider cheap ebooks as an alternative

[Zoë Sumra]

With a financial head on, I don't know how much Nook books cost compared to physical books. If you save £1 per book over the paper price new, it logically takes you 29 books before you make up the cost. This excludes the value of free classics and services such as the Baen Free Library, which can be considerable: buying the BFL would cost hundreds and would take up space.

If you're concerned about the reading experience, I suggest borrowing someone's ereader for a few minutes to see what you think. (I prefer to use mine with its leather case open so I'm holding it in two hands like a paper book, for instance.)

In terms of convenience - it can be fantastic. I know you said you weren't going travelling any time soon, but my husband and I went away for a month last year with three books and our Kindle. As well as what we already had on it, we downloaded half the Baen Free Library and a few paid books via random wifi connections. The ability to read the first 5% of books before buying them can also allow you to avoid some well-thought-of turkeys.

Kindle has the vast majority of market share in the UK (90% IIRC, which will be the reason for this promotion). I do not know how this affects the availability of ebooks on Nook in the UK. You don't want to keep having to buy Kindle files and convert them.

So - probably a good idea, if you can take the initial financial hit, and if the books you want to buy are available.

[deleted01]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I think I'll keep an eye on it, do some more research and see how my working situation goes, then probably go for it. I ran out of time today in town so I couldn't nip into a shop for one. Lucky really, as I got a new phone today. I'd never get any work done with all these new gadgets to play with :lol:

Naturally I see this thread after spending £109 on a kindle this morning.

:laugh: Sorry about that!

[Reposado]

I don't know why anyone would think that having an e-reader means you won't read actual books. Why wouldn't you be able to read in all kinds of formats?

yeah i certainly do both.

i didnt think i would like the ereader when i started but i find i like it alot.

still read primarily paper books, but thats because most of my reading is done at the pool, or with feet in the pool, or up to my shoulders in the pool with the book on the ledge. these are times when i would feel uncomfortable with an ereader